Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Let’s step aside from the usual thoughtful post and muse a bit a few days before Christmas.

Sitting in Starbucks as I write these posts, I sometimes see small children pushing open the glass door as they exit. They are as excited when they exit as when they entered. Starbucks has a lot of goodies for those under age five.

And most folks under age five are not as excited about the goodies as they are about going someplace with a special adult.

These small children push the glass door open with their hands. There is a push bar to open the door. That, however, is too high for the average three-year-old. Someone should have put a push bar down low for these children. The children wouldn’t leave their hand prints on the glass. The employees wouldn’t have to be on their knees to clean the hand prints off the glass. That’s a tough job.

Maybe not. After all, the little hand prints down low on the glass door are called a “leading economic indicators.” People, who will one day frequent Starbucks with money and demand for goods, are building fond feelings for the place. They will return.

And is the world worthwhile without the glee of three-year-olds?

One thing I notice is that when one of these happy fellows skips through Starbucks, all the older customers smile. There is something special about being in a place where people smile.

In addition to coffee and wifi, seeing three-year-olds skip with glee is one of the major reasons I come to places like this.